Certain Affinity
Encyclopedia
Certain Affinity is an American
video game development
studio based in Austin, Texas
, in the USA
. It was founded in 2006 by Max Hoberman and a small number of other ex-Bungie
employees and other industry veterans.
employee Max Hoberman. In addition to staff from Bungie it also includes ex-members of companies such as Microsoft
, Red Storm
, Origin
, Electronic Arts
, Digital Anvil
and NCSoft
.
The studio's first work was in creating two additional multiplayer levels for the popular Xbox
game Halo 2
. These maps, called Tombstone and Desolation (which are called the Halo 2 Blastacular Map Pack) are the last Halo 2 maps ever to be released and also they are remakes of levels that were in the original Halo game called Hang 'Em High and Derelict respectively. They were released for Halo 2 over the Xbox Live service on April 17, 2007. These maps weren't released for Halo 2 Vista, ( Tombstone and Desolation have been ported to Halo 2 Vista http://www.monstrmoose.com/MMrepository/maps.html ), but were replaced with two new maps exclusive to Halo 2 vista "District" and "Uplift". Certain Affinity worked closely with members of Bungie
and Microsoft Game Studios
during the development of these two maps.
Certain Affinity has also been working on another project since November 2006, which is an unannounced original IP game in the action/RPG genre. The title of this game, the platform it will be for, and when it will be released have not yet been announced. However, Certain Affinity has said in a recent interview that it has "spoken with most of the major publishers and there’s serious interest, so our goal is to continue self-funding the company until we’re ready to sign a publishing deal and move everyone full time onto this project."
Certain Affinity's first original game was Age of Booty
, a downloadable real-time strategy
game released on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade
and PlayStation Network. The title was published by Capcom
on October 15, 2008.
Certain Affinity also created Call of Duty: World at War
multiplayer maps for the retail release as well as maps for the recent 2nd downloadable map pack.
The company helped Valve
port Left 4 Dead
to the Xbox 360
.
In 2009 the company announced the completion of Halo Waypoint developed in conjunction with 343 Industries
.
In 2010, Certain Affinity collaborated on maps and game modes with Treyarch
and Activision
for Call of Duty: Black Ops
and First Strike Map Pack 1.
The company also worked on the "Defiant Map Pack" for Halo Reach, released on March 15, 2011.
The company has also announced their new game, due to release at summer 2011, called Crimson Alliance
, at RTX (a Roosterteeth Event).
Certain Affinity has also announced partnering with 343 Industries
again for the development of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011.
Fansites
Articles
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game development
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
studio based in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in 2006 by Max Hoberman and a small number of other ex-Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
employees and other industry veterans.
History
Certain Affinity's creation was announced in December 2006. The studio was formed by ex BungieBungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
employee Max Hoberman. In addition to staff from Bungie it also includes ex-members of companies such as Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Red Storm
Red Storm Entertainment
Ubisoft Red Storm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ubisoft Entertainment, specializing in video games and related merchandise, mainly based on the works of the writer Tom Clancy. The company develops and markets their own CD/DVD-ROM games...
, Origin
Origin (software)
Origin is a proprietary computer program for interactive scientific graphing and data analysis. It is produced by OriginLab Corporation, and runs on Microsoft Windows...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, Digital Anvil
Digital Anvil
Digital Anvil was a computer game company. It was founded in 1996, when Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts left Origin Systems, Inc., along with many other employees....
and NCSoft
NCsoft
NCsoft is a South Korea-based online video game company, which has published massively multiplayer online role-playing games including Lineage, City of Heroes, Wildstar, Exteel, Guild Wars and Aion.-History:...
.
The studio's first work was in creating two additional multiplayer levels for the popular Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
game Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
. These maps, called Tombstone and Desolation (which are called the Halo 2 Blastacular Map Pack) are the last Halo 2 maps ever to be released and also they are remakes of levels that were in the original Halo game called Hang 'Em High and Derelict respectively. They were released for Halo 2 over the Xbox Live service on April 17, 2007. These maps weren't released for Halo 2 Vista, ( Tombstone and Desolation have been ported to Halo 2 Vista http://www.monstrmoose.com/MMrepository/maps.html ), but were replaced with two new maps exclusive to Halo 2 vista "District" and "Uplift". Certain Affinity worked closely with members of Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
and Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
during the development of these two maps.
Certain Affinity has also been working on another project since November 2006, which is an unannounced original IP game in the action/RPG genre. The title of this game, the platform it will be for, and when it will be released have not yet been announced. However, Certain Affinity has said in a recent interview that it has "spoken with most of the major publishers and there’s serious interest, so our goal is to continue self-funding the company until we’re ready to sign a publishing deal and move everyone full time onto this project."
Certain Affinity's first original game was Age of Booty
Age of Booty
Age of Booty is a downloadable real-time strategy game created by Certain Affinity and published by Capcom. The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade, on PlayStation Network, and on Windows...
, a downloadable real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game released on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
and PlayStation Network. The title was published by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
on October 15, 2008.
Certain Affinity also created Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II. The game was...
multiplayer maps for the retail release as well as maps for the recent 2nd downloadable map pack.
The company helped Valve
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
port Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
to the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
In 2009 the company announced the completion of Halo Waypoint developed in conjunction with 343 Industries
343 Industries
343 Industries, usually shortened to 343i, is an American video game developer located in Kirkland, Washington. It was established in 2007 by Microsoft Game Studios to oversee development of the Halo science fiction media franchise, which includes video games, novels, comics, and other multimedia...
.
In 2010, Certain Affinity collaborated on maps and game modes with Treyarch
Treyarch
Treyarch is an American video game developer company, founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann and Doğan Köslü , and acquired by Activision in 2001...
and Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
for Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
and First Strike Map Pack 1.
The company also worked on the "Defiant Map Pack" for Halo Reach, released on March 15, 2011.
The company has also announced their new game, due to release at summer 2011, called Crimson Alliance
Crimson Alliance
Crimson Alliance is a co-op action role-playing game developed by Certain Affinity and published by Microsoft Studios. The game was first announced in May 2011 at a Rooster Teeth event and was available for demo at E3, ComicCon and PAX Prime, with the press release being announced on May 31,...
, at RTX (a Roosterteeth Event).
Certain Affinity has also announced partnering with 343 Industries
343 Industries
343 Industries, usually shortened to 343i, is an American video game developer located in Kirkland, Washington. It was established in 2007 by Microsoft Game Studios to oversee development of the Halo science fiction media franchise, which includes video games, novels, comics, and other multimedia...
again for the development of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011.
Games
- Halo 2Halo 2Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
- X360, PC (2007) - Age of BootyAge of BootyAge of Booty is a downloadable real-time strategy game created by Certain Affinity and published by Capcom. The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade, on PlayStation Network, and on Windows...
- XBLA, PSN, PC (2008) - Call of Duty: World at WarCall of Duty: World at WarCall of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II. The game was...
- X360, PS3, PC (2008) - Left 4 DeadLeft 4 DeadLeft 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
- X360 (2008) - Halo Waypoint - X360 (2009)
- Halo: ReachHalo: ReachHalo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the...
- X360 (2010) - Crimson AllianceCrimson AllianceCrimson Alliance is a co-op action role-playing game developed by Certain Affinity and published by Microsoft Studios. The game was first announced in May 2011 at a Rooster Teeth event and was available for demo at E3, ComicCon and PAX Prime, with the press release being announced on May 31,...
- XBLA (2011) - Halo: Combat Evolved AnniversaryHalo: Combat Evolved AnniversaryHalo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, also referred to as Halo: Anniversary, or Halo: CEA, is a first-person shooter video game set in the Halo universe and is an enhanced remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. Microsoft announced the game along with Halo 4 at their Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 press...
- X360 (2011)
External links
Certain Affinity Website- Official homepage
- About Certain Affinity
- Certain Affinity Jobs page
- Certain Affinity MySpace page
- Crimson Alliance Website
Fansites
Articles